With the implementation of the America Invents Act and the United States moving to a first-to-file regime, there is greater time pressure to file patent applications than ever before. When patent protection in ex-US...more
According to several recent publications by Chinese governmental authorities, both IP litigation and IP prosecution numbers in China continue to increase significantly. ...more
Both the European Patent Office (EPO) and the Japanese Patent Office (JPO) accept a third party observation regarding validity of a patent application. In February 2012, it was announced that third party observations could be...more
The United States loses between $225 and $600 billion each year due to misappropriation of intellectual property — an estimated 50-80 percent of which has been attributed to China. While Chinese officials have taken steps to...more
Over the past weekend, the Chinese legislature decided on a major restructuring of governmental agencies. The restructuring plan was announced by the State Council on 13 March 2018, and approved by the National People's...more
Life science and other high technology companies most frequently file patent applications in five IP offices (IP5), namely: the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the European Patent Office (EPO), the Japanese...more
Total Chinese Patent Office Grants by Technology Sector. Please see full graph in article for more information....more
China is in the midst of a tremendous patent boom. Worldwide, total patent application filings were up 7.8% in 2015, with China accounting for 84% of the total growth[1]. In 2015, the State Intellectual Property Office of the...more
With continued extraordinary growth, including a record number of patent applications filed in a single year[1], the importance of intellectual property rights in China is undeniable. And so, all eyes are on the recent...more
With the implementation of Revisions to the Chinese Patent Examination Guidelines on April 1, 2017, the April 2017 issue of Sterne Kessler's Global Patent Prosecution Newsletter includes information and practical tips for...more
Speed read - On 23 March 2017, the Antimonopoly Commission of China’s State Council (“AMC”) published the long-expected draft Guidelines on Prohibition of Abuses of Intellectual Property Rights (“draft IPR Guidelines”)...more
Chinese patent prosecution recently made worldwide headlines when the press announced that the Chinese Patent Office (SIPO) rejected a Gilead Sovaldi prodrug patent. Sovaldi (sofosbuvir) is a breakthrough drug used to treat...more
Recently announced by the State Intellectual Property Office of China (SIPO), graphical user interface (GUI) design patent applications will be accepted beginning on May 1, 2014. Revised on March 17, 2014, the amended Patent...more
Word comes to us from attorneys at the CCPIT Patent and Trademark Law Office that the Patent Affairs Administration Department of the State Intellectual Property Office of the PRC (SIPO) "clarified" examination procedures for...more
Last month, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) issued a report indicating that worldwide intellectual property filings showed strong growth in 2011 despite a global economy that continued to underperform. In...more